I have read a lot of philosophy
during my life, and almost all of it left me feeling unsatisfied, that is until
I discovered a branch of philosophy called Absurdism. Absurdism has it’s roots in the writings of
the 19th century philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, but it further advanced by
the French philosopher Albert Camus. In Camus’ essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus examines the problem of the Absurd:
that human beings look for meaning in a universe without one. The problem of
the Absurd is neither present in human beings or the universe, but in there
interaction.
During my most recent reading of Nineteen Eighty-Four I examined the story through the lens of
absurdism. Winston is a man who is in constant rebellion against the party, a
seemingly unstoppable force that will be responsible for his death. Like the
absurd man who is sure of the grand finality of his death, Winston continues to
rebel against the absurdity of his life even though he realizes that “[they]
can’t win” (135). Winston takes a very different approach to the knowledge of
certain death than his mother did. To be fair, his mother’s loss is different
than Winston’s in that she had almost everything stripped from her life before
her death. However, her response was to lie in bed what resembles a crushing
depression. I am not criticizing her for doing this as I can only begin to
imagine the terrible grief of a person in her position; I am just highlighting
her behavior as an opposite to Winston’s. In contrast, when Winston is faced with
certain death his response is to extract the most life he can from the bleak
world that he inhabits. The response of a person who recognizes the absurd is
not to give up and despair at the hopelessness of his or her situation, it is
to rejoice in the wonder and beauty that life has to offer. With the knowledge
that there is nothing but what has been and what is comes a freedom from the
pain and anguish of trying to live in place distinctly inhuman, a place where
Party dwells. For me, and it seemed for Winston as well, living life is finding
someone you love desperately and giving him or her everything of yourself
because “when you have nothing else to give, you still give [them] love” (164).
To love, others and yourself, is to “[stay] human” (165). The failure to rebel
would mean that Winston rejects his humanity for some Rebellion means to
embrace the wonder of being human without having to anesthetizing yourself to
the world.
The knowledge of the absurd never
really leaves you. It is something that, once your mind’s eye fixes upon its
terrifying light, you can never unsee. Winston must cling desperately to the
delusion that he loves big brother because he knows that flame of his humanity
still burns in the back of his mind.
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